Warmth
by The Madhatter2
Summary: Catherine needs a little cheering up after Feeling the Heat. GC.


WARMTH  
  
By The Madhatter  
  
Disclaimer: As much as I love the CSI cast, I do not own them.  
  
Spoilers: Feeling the Heat  
  
A/N: Once again, I wrote this right after Feeling the Heat aired. . . and didn't finish it until now. I have so many unfinished fics sitting on my hard drive, it's unbelievable. It's not my fault that I don't have as much time as I wished I did, school is taking over my life. Argh. Well, here's the fic. Picks up right where the ep left off. Enjoy!  
  
+++  
  
Catherine Willows stared at the thermometer in her car as it steadily rose from 135 degrees to 138 to 140. Her breaths were deep and ragged as her lungs struggled to inhale the oxygen slowly evaporating away. Her eyelids were three-fourths of the way closed, just wanting to shut out the remaining light, and disappear forever. Just as her mind started slipping away into the land of unconsciousness, a deep voice startled her.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Her eyes snapped open, and her body lurched forward; Catherine barely grabbed the steering wheel in front of her to stop from slamming into it. "What the --?"  
  
"Sorry," the man said, peering at her curiously, through the now-open door. "What are you doing out here, in this heat?"  
  
"What? Oh. . . I. . . was just relaxing for a bit. You know, getting my thoughts together. . ."  
  
An eyebrow appeared above the frames of his sunglasses in a questioning manner. "Really. . ." Before she knew it, he was sitting in the passenger's seat.  
  
"Grissom!"  
  
"Catherine, I think we're past playing games now." He paused, taking off his sunglasses. "What happened to Joshua?"  
  
"He. . . he was a healthy baby. . ."  
  
"I know," he sympathized, "I know."  
  
"Greg found pesticides in his body. The repeated exposure to it caused Joshua to appear to have symptoms of Tay-sachs, a disorder that Howard had too."  
  
"Howard?"  
  
"Their first child." Catherine stared straight ahead, missing the surprised look on Grissom's face. "The Winston's couldn't stand the fact that Joshua might have it too, so they decided to spare themselves more pain by ending his life."  
  
"So they left his body in the car, with the intention of killing him and making it look accidental," Grissom said, catching onto the story.  
  
"Basically, yeah." Catherine sighed and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. "It's so sad."  
  
"You said the pesticides caused Joshua appear to have Tay-sachs. Are you saying he did or didn't have it?"  
  
She closed her eyes. "He didn't. Joshua was a perfectly healthy baby boy."  
  
Grissom shook his head and stared out the window. "People like to jump to conclusions."  
  
"All they had to do was wait for the enzyme test to come back. . . and maybe Joshua would still be alive."  
  
"How are you holding up?"  
  
"Okay. I just. . . I just need to see Lindsey. I couldn't even stand leaving her alone for one second, much less leaving her in a car when she was a baby."  
  
"What about now?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
She spared him a glance and gave him a small grin. "Now, I can't believe how fast she's growing up and how much I'm missing."  
  
"You're not missing anything, Catherine. You're with her every step of the way."  
  
"No, I'm not. I barely get to see her plays or games. Hell, I barely see her all day."  
  
"She understands, I'm sure."  
  
"She says she does, but it still hurts. I remember when my mom or dad couldn't make it to my games or plays; it hurt - a lot. I always put a smile on my face and said that it was okay, that I understood. I never did. I always wondered why they never made any time for me in their busy work schedule. I just figured that they loved their jobs more than they loved me. Now. . . I'm doing the same thing to Lindsey. And I feel horrible."  
  
"But you love Lindsey more than your job. It shows. Everyone can see it, I can see it."  
  
"But does Lindsey know that?"  
  
"If I can see it, I'm sure she can too. Kids are generally more perceptive than adults. She knows that you love her, Catherine. Trust me. She probably understands that you love your job too, and in order for her to keep getting the stuff she likes, her mom has to work."  
  
She laughed. "I guess you're right."  
  
"If you want to take a day off tomorrow, you can."  
  
Catherine smiled at him. "Thanks. You're too nice sometimes."  
  
He grinned back. "I try. Why don't you go home and see Lindsey? Worry about the paperwork another day."  
  
"I will. And thanks. . . for everything."  
  
Grissom gave her a small smile and stepped out of her truck, and stood back, watching her back out. Instead of heading toward the exit, Catherine pulled up beside him, rolling down her window. "Why don't you get in? Lindsey hasn't seen you in ages."  
  
He smiled and hopped in, smiling. "Thanks."  
  
"Even you deserve a break once in a while, Gil."  
  
When Catherine pulled up in her driveway, the front door of her house slammed open and a small bundle slammed into Catherine's body. "Mom!"  
  
"Hey, Lindsey. Look who came to see you today."  
  
Grissom stepped around the truck and came into view. A wide smile spread across her small face and tackled him as well. "Mr. Grissom!"  
  
"Hello there, Lindsey." He returned her hug.  
  
"Lindsey! Be careful. Gil's an old man, he can't take your tackles as well as Warrick or Nick can."  
  
Grissom shot her a playful glare, then smiled down at the little girl still hugging him. "Don't listen to your mom, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I'm just as strong as those two." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "Your mom's an old woman too, so be careful with her."  
  
Lindsey giggled. "You're bad, Mr. Grissom."  
  
"I heard that, Gil!" Catherine, crossing her arms, sent him an equally playful glare, but couldn't help the smile forming on her face. Despite the heat and the heart-breaking case, Catherine couldn't help feel the warmth of love and happiness flow through her, watching her closest friend and only daughter interact with each other.  
  
+ End + 


End file.
